Apples
by ProtegoMaximaMyHeart
Summary: If there's one thing that Malfoy and Hermione both like, it's apples. Unfortunately, they can't agree on which apple is the best. But then again, when do they agree on anything?


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Draco Malfoy liked a lot of things.

Pure-bloods.

Being in Slytherin.

Being a Malfoy.

And…Granny Smith apples.

Whenever people saw him, he was happily munching on them. It was weird for them to see such delight on his face, the cause not being from instilling fear into those around him who he felt deserved it.

He disliked a lot of things too.

Half-bloods and Mudbloods.

Gryffindors.

And anyone who was acquainted with Harry Potter, in which case were mostly Gryffindors.

Unfortunately, those things which he didn't like were manifested in his assigned partner, the insufferable know-it-all known as Hermione Granger.

They were currently sitting in a deserted corner of the library working on a joint essay on Hinkypunks for Professor Lupin. Hermione took the liberty of stacking books in order to help her with her half of the essay high enough on the table that he couldn't even see her bushy head of brown hair. Malfoy, who would rather kiss a Hippogriff than work on his half, resigned when Harry muttered to him that Hermione wouldn't cave easily to **him** when it came to the essay. Sighing, he grabbed one of the books and flipped it open, hoping to find something that would help. The essay was to be broken down into two parts: Why Hinkypunks were able to lead people off into the bog and how one would avoid being involved with a Hinkypunk. Hermione took the second half, as she let Malfoy have what was supposedly the easier half. He was a little insulted when she mocked his intelligence, so he was determined to write a superb portion. The only sounds that filled the air were quills scratching on parchment and pages being turned.

He had about half of his part written when he decided to take a break. He pulled a Granny Smith out of his book bag and started to eat it, lazily leaning back in his chair and watching her write furiously. There were some things that he didn't notice before, like how she bit her lower lip when deep in thought, or wrinkled her nose when she disagrees with what's in books, or how her eyes lit up when she had an epiphany.

Hermione's ears perked up when she realized that she only heard herself writing. Looking up from the parchment, she saw Malfoy's steel-gray eyes boring into hers and her own brown ones narrowed.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"No, not really. Well, actually you can. If you could finish my half of the essay that would be wonderful."

She leaned over the table and her eyes widened. "You're already halfway done! Why do you need me to finish it?"

"Because I said so."

"Like that's a legitimate reason. I know you get pretty good marks too, Malfoy. I'm not stupid."

He rolled his eyes and continued to eat his apple, while not breaking eye contact with her.

"Why do you like those so much anyway? Those are terribly tart."

"Who says that? They're the best."

"My mum. They're really good for baking because they're hard and soften in pies."

"You know what else is hard? M-"She threw a book at him and it bounced off his head. Luckily, it was one of her lighter books.

"What the bloody hell was that for?"

"For being so crass. Ugh, I can't concentrate now. I need a break too." He was surprised when she too pulled out an unfamiliar apple out of her bag. Malfoy has eaten a lot of apples in the past…but that wasn't one of them. It was a particularly large apple, but she had no problem biting big chunks out of it.

"What kind of apple is _that_, Granger?"

"A Fuji."

"A what?"

"A Fuji. My mum went to America to visit her cousin right before I left for Hogwarts and she brought A LOT of these back with her. They're delicious and sweet." She looked at it and sighed. "Would you like a bite?"

He scoffed. "I'll stick with mine. It's perfect."

"How can you say that? You haven't even tried it."

"I don't trust words coming from a Mudblood."

She felt the extreme urge to punch him, but she settled for smacking him upside the head with another book. "You are impossible, you know that Malfoy? You think you know everything, when it's perfectly clear that," she stood up, slapped her hands on the table and glared daggers at him, "you," she jabbed him in the chest with her index finger, "are," jab, "a," jab, "coward." She sat back down with a satisfied smile on her face. She picked up her quill and started writing again, until she felt his hot breath against her ear.

"And how exactly am I a coward, Granger?" She gulped, but pulled her head back, stared him down and picked up her apple, waving it in front of his face.

"You won't even try this apple, Malfoy."

He stared at her. "**That's** what makes me a coward? Not trying your stupid apple?"

"You're afraid of change, that's all."

"Please."

"I'm telling you, Fujis are the best."

His eyes immediately narrowed and he leaned across the table.

"No, Granny Smiths are."

She leaned across the table as well, her eyes flashing fire, a telltale sign of an impending fight from her. "No, Fujis are."

"Granny Smiths."

"Fujis."

"Granny Smiths.

"Fujis."

"Granny Smiths!" He took a bite out of his apple to prove a point.

"Fujis!" Hermione did the same thing.

They were almost nose to nose, beating the daylights out of each other in the other's mind. If anyone walked by, they would swear they saw steam coming out of the pairs ears.

At this point, Malfoy expected (and **almost** feared) that she would punch him again. So he just put on his best angry face, but he could feel it faltering as he looked at her. Again, there some things that he didn't notice before about her, like how freckles were dusted across her obnoxiously pointy nose, or how her abnormally wide forehead wrinkled as her eyebrows furrowed, or…

How her elegant jaw was set in anger…

Or...

How her full pink lips, which had a small remnant of that apple juice on them, frowned at him…

Before he gave a second thought, he closed the gap, effectively lapping up the juice. Hermione was right, it was sweet.

She stared at him, jaw dropped. He slowly sat back down, staring at his parchment. They both continued to write, neither saying a word. Malfoy finished his portion at lightning speed, which surprised them both. Pushing it towards her, he shoved everything into his book bag and was just about to run out of the library.

Before he left, he turned to her.

"Gran- I mean, Hermione?"

She looked up from her portion, which she had just finished. "Yes, Draco?"

He had a lopsided smile on his face. "You were right. Fujis are the best."

She blushed.

He strode out of the library, with a sort of swing in his step.


End file.
